'They inconvenienced me, so I inconvenienced them': Scammy hotel cancels $65 booked reservations then price gouges to $700 for the eclipse, gets burned afterwards

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Apr 14, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

There's not a soul in America who could avoid news of the solar eclipse this week. It happens rarely in the USA, so folks were frantic to get the best spot to damage their retinas and stare at the flaming orb that keeps our planet alive. Although it's not tough for many of us to imagine, this mania also meant that there were businesses ready to capitalize on the sudden demand. 

But the person in our next story was more than prepared to derail the economic efforts of a shady hotel after they canceled her $65 reservation and price gouged her new stay to $700/night. Scroll for the entire story of how a group of good friends used the powers that be to pull an uno reverse on a scammy hotel chain, leaving them with empty rooms and a total eclipse of the heart. 

Put on your welder's glasses and stare into the soul of this satisfying story of petty revenge. 

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  • 01
    Eclipse hotel price gouging? Enjoy empty rooms
    via canva
  • 02
    Posted by u/VictoriaEuphoria99 Eclipse hotel price gouging? Enjoy empty rooms I won't say where because reasons, but I had a hotel booked and then they cancelled my reservation because of a "computer error"
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 03
    But now the same rooms were available for like $700 So... Me and some friends reserved all their rooms at the higher rate And... The cancellation deadline was the day before. (Hehe)
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 04
    I'm sure they got some of them rebooked, but we kept reserving rooms until they had no availability, and then cancelled them all around 330 PM for a 4 PM deadline.
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 05
    And they had LOTS of availability up till midnight the night before :) And considering they have been plastered with bad reviews because they have done this to others, I wonder if their business will recover.
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 06
    CoderJoe1 14 hr. ago I hope their losses eclipse their greedy gains. 1.2k Reply Share chubbycubnut3000. 14 hr. ago I bet they'll lose their eclipse glasses
    via CoderJoe1
  • 07
    ckb614 2 hr. ago If the original rate was $200, they would only have to have sold 2/7 of the rooms at the increased rate to break even on the strategy. I think their business is going to be just fine
    via ckb614
  • 08
    VictoriaEuphoria99 OP 51 min. ago The original rate was 65. I don't really care if the business fails, they inconvenienced me, so I inconvenienced them, the true definition of petty revenge.
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 09
    Rusarules 2 hr. ago Yeah, my dad looked at rooms and even for a Super 8, they wanted $1k per night. He stayed at my niece's place for free.
    via Rusarules
  • 10
    energizernutter. 14 hr. ago Leave 1 star reviews on Google about their gouging 121 Reply Share ... VictoriaEuphoria99 OP 14 hr. ago There are plenty :)
    via energizernutter
  • 11
    bobk2 14 hr. ago They'll blacklist you for the next total eclipse. Lol. 343 Reply Share ... No_Talk_4836 14 hr. ago If it's a chain that might matter. If not they won't be around in 44 years for the next one
    via bobk2
  • 12
    VictoriaEuphoria99 OP 14 hr. ago It's an independent franchise that flies with a corporate tag The hotel I actually stayed in is another of the brand, and they were great.
    via VictoriaEuphoria99
  • 13
    UnluckyLet5561 10 hr. ago Some hotels did this during the 2017 eclipse in Oregon. Wound up getting major fines and REALLY bad advertising on the news. FAFO
    via UnluckyLet5561
  • 14
    Adventurous_Law9767 6 hr. ago There really needs to be steep penalties for breaking reservations. Airlines and hotels are notorious for intentionally overbooking. The eclipse is worse because they suddenly were banking on being able to book more rooms at a higher price.
    via Adventurous_Law9767
  • 15
    A reservation is meaningless if they can get away with blowing it off just because someone else will pay more. If I reserve a room 3 months in advance and someone calls the week before and offers another $200 bucks for my spot, and the hotel takes it? Then I didn't have a reservation, they only told me I did.
    via Adventurous_Law9767
  • 16
    C_beside_the_seaside 7 hr. ago Not all heroes wear capes but hopefully they got to wear welder's glasses Reply Share crujones43.15 hr. ago That's amazing!
    via C_beside_the_seaside
  • 17
    MaleficentCoconut458 13 hr. ago When I worked in a boutique venue many years ago part of my job was to keep on top of local concerts & events so the GM could significantly increase the prices for those dates & cancel all availability of the third party booking sites. If we had any
    via MaleficentCoconut458
  • 18
    bookings already for those dates he would lose his about lost revenue. One of my favourite days was when he almost stroked out in the lobby because a major big time draw card concert was announced for the same night that we were fully booked for a wedding & had
    via MaleficentCoconut458
  • 19
    given the guests a nice package with discounts & free breakfasts if they stayed the whole weekend & the wedding couple got free massages & the top tier suite for
    via MaleficentCoconut458
  • 20
    free based on 100% occupancy (which they achieved as we were only 25 suites). His face went red & a big old vein on his temple started throbbing. I was wondering if that would be the day when I had to call an ambulance.
    via MaleficentCoconut458
  • 21
    Giantsfan1954 14 hr. ago Total Eclipse of the Heart 19 Reply Share VictoriaEuphoria99 OP 14 hr. ago Forever's gonna start tonight.
    via Giantsfan1954

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customer service motels solar eclipse hotel motel cancelled reservation solar petty revenge eclipse cancelation Travel hotels traveling Reddit guest price gouge
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